Timing or similar apparatus



Dec. 8, 1964 R. B. SEIDEL 3,160,719

TIMING OR SIMILAR APPARATUS Filed Oct. 51, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

ROBERT B. SEIDEL ATTORNEY Dec. 8, 1964 R. B. SEIDEL 3,160,719

TIMING OR SIMILAR APPARATUS Filed Oct. 31, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 46 450 5 45c 45d (45': ii? 5 INVENTOR.

ROBERT B. SEIDEL BY ATTORN EY United States Patent Office 3,160,719 Patented Dec. 8, 1964 3,160,719 TIIVHNG OR SIMILAR APPARATUS Robert B. Seidel, Radnor, Pa., assignor to Automatic Timing & Controls, Inc., King of Prussia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Oct. 31, 1962, Ser. No. 234,345 10 Claims. (Cl. 200-38) This invention relates to timing apparatus and in particular to a simple and inexpensive timer or similar apparatus.

Timers used in heavy or production-type industry today are very rugged, relatively complex, have high calibration and repeat accuracy, and are relatively expensive. At the other end of the scale are domestic-type timers used in light-duty household applications such as clockradios, laundry appliances, cooking apparatus, etc. There is a need, however, for intermediate, light-duty commercial timing apparatus which is not required to have the same accuracy as the heavy-duty types and should be cheaper to attract a larger market. These timers would be used for apparatus such as teaching machines, blueprint machines, ofiice copying machines, institutional incinerators, vending machines, etc. Timing devices of this general type are of two general kinds: pneumatic and electromechanical. The pneumatic variety is usually of very low repeat accuracy and tends to clog up because of dust, etc.

The electromechanical variety includes timers which have motors combined integrally with clutches in a single housing. This tends to decrease reliability and operating life, make repair more expensive and limits the range of available timing intervals.

Among the objects of the present invention are to provide:

(1) A simple and easily made intermediate-duty timing device.

(2) An inexpensive timing device capable of attaining -a high degree of accuracy for many commercial purposes.

(3) A relatively compact timing device.

(4) An intermediate-duty timing device which has the reliability and life of rugged industrial timers.

These and other objects of the present invention are attained by providing a timer in which the time-interval setting means operates a cam which positions a cam-follower switch arm with respect to a second cam. The second cam is driven by a rotary motion device such as a motor and when the cam attains a predetermined angular position, the switches associated with the switch-arm are actuated completing the timing operation. In accordance with another feature of my invention, I provide a convenient push-button arrangement for initiating the operation of the timer.

The invention may be understood with reference to the following figures wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an external, isometric view of the timer within its housing.

FIGURE 2 is a side-elevation view of the internal works of the timer shown in FIG. 1 with housing and knob shown in section.

FIGURE 3 is a partly sectional view of the timer taken along the section line 33 in FIG. 2.

FIGURE 4 is a partly sectional view taken along the sect-ion line 4-4 in FIGS. 2 and 3 in the direction indicated by the arrows.

FIGURE 5 is a partly sectional view taken along the section lines 55 of FIG. 2 in the direction indicated by the arrows.

FIGURE 6 is a schematic representation of the surface of the cam shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 which is engaged by a cam follower-switch arm.

FIGURE 7 is a partly sectional view taken along the section lines 7-7 of FIG. 5 in the direction indicated by the arrows.

FIGURE 8 is a side elevation view of the solenoidclutch actuating subassembly according to another embodiment of my invention.

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view of the terminal contacts of the apparatus taken along the section lines 9--9 in FIG. 1 in the direction indicated.

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view of one terminal contact sub-assembly taken along the sectionline 19-40 of FIG. 9 in the direction indicated.

Referring to FIGURE 1 there is shown a timing device indicated generally at the numeral 12 having a housing 13 and a front panel 14 with a rim 14a which surrounds an inset dial having the desired time indicia thereupon. There is a setting knob 17 having a pointer 17:: (FIG. 2) which is adjusted to the proper time interval by the operator. There is also a pushbutton 16 which may be used to initiate operation of the timer when desired. Recessed portions 18 in the housing 13 are provided for terminals 19.

Cam and Switch-Arm Assembly Referring now to FIGURES 2, 3, and 6 the setting knob 17 controls the angular position of the cam 45. The cam 45 has connected thereto a shaft 44 which passes through an aperture in a generally U-shaped mounting bracket indicated generally at the numeral 23. The shaft 44 also passes through an aperture in the front plate 14 and into the axial bore of the knob 17 to which it is fixedly connected by means of a set screw 17b. When the operator turns the knob 17 to put the pointer 17a opposite the desired indicia on the dial 15, he is rotating the cam 45 whose surface is engaged by the terminal portion 46:: of a cam followenswitch plate 46. When the knob 17 is turned to its maximum position in a clockwise direction the portion 46a will be stopped by the surface 45b (FIG. 6). As the knob is turned counterclockwise the tip of 4641 will ride first on the lowest surface 45a, then on the intermediate position 450, the plateau 45d and end against surface 450. Most of the surface of cam 45 is linear to approximate the linear graduations on the dial 15. However, at a very low setting the accuracy of the timer cannot be guaranteed so there is a sharp, non-linear upturn between the portions 45c and 45d. The plateau 45d corresponds to the setting region of substandard accuracy and constitutes about 8% of the total range of the dial 15.

The plate 46 pivots about a pivot point 49 and its lower right corner (FIG. 3) is kept against the inner surface of bracket 23 by a dot fastener rivet 49a, for example, which passes through a slot 42 cut in bracket 23. The plate 46 is biased toward the right (as seen in FIG. 3) by a spring 47 which is connected at one end to an aperture in the perpendicular portion 46b of the plate 46. At its other end the spring 47 is connected to bracket 23 through apertures in the side wall thereof.

The plate 46 carries a switch assembly indicated genorally at the numeral 50, which is mounted thereupon by screws 54 which also pass through plate 51. A combination cam-foilower-switch arm 55 is pivotally mounted by a pivot pin 56 which passes through aligned apertures in the flanges 55b in the plate 51, in the plate 46. The end 5511 of the arm 55 engages the cam-surface 40 of the cam 28a which is one part of an integral clutch mechanism indicated generally at the numeral 28 (FIG. 2). The arm 55 has two actuating fingers 57 and 58 which are adjustable by set screws (only one is shown in FIG. 3) 59. These fingers engage switch buttons 67 and 68 which cause make or break, as desired, of the switch contacts within the assembly 50.

3 Clutch Assembly Referring-now to FIGURES 2, 3 and 4 there is seen a clutch assembly 28 which may be molded of nylon, for example, and includes the aforesaid cam portion 28a. A motor is coupled either directly or through some intermediate driving or gearing means to a rotating shaft 22 which carries a tongue or blade 22a. The shaft 22 passes through an aperture in the bracket 23 and the blade 22a is inserted into a slot in the shaft 24a that passes through an axial passageway 28 in the assembly 28. There is a clearance between the outside surface of the shaft 24a and the passageway to permit the members 28a, 28c, and 28d to rotate freely about the shaft 24a.

To the lower end of the shaft 24a is connected a lower clutch member 24 having a free end 24c which is journalled for rotary movement within an aperture in the mounting bracket 23. It will be noted that there is a spring 25 inserted between the member 24 and the member 280 which ordinarily urges the assembly 28 upward toward the helical spring 41.

The helical spring 41 has one end curled about a pin 48 which is mounted in aligned apertures in the parallel side walls of bracket 23, the external ends of the pin being pinched to prevent substantial axial movement thereof. The other end of the helical spring 41 is connected to a slot in the portion 28s. The spring is so disposed that when the timing interval begins and the motor 20 begins to revolve the blade 22a, the spring 41 begins to be wound up. The, lower end of the assembly 23 has radial ridges 2,811 formed therein which mate with corresponding ridges 24b in the lower clutch member 24 when the members 28' and 24 are. engaged. There is a projection 40a extending from the clutch part 28d which limits the clockwise S en in 3..) movement thereof. When the timer is. off and th clutch 2-8 is disengaged, the member 28d is, impelled by spring 41 clockwise until the projection meets pin 48. A more detailed description of this action follows.

Clutch Actuation In order to engage the clutch, there is provided as shown in FIG. 4 a generally L-sectioned arm 35 having two projections 35c and 35d which pass with clearance through apertures in one side wall of the bracket 23 and are twisted somewhat to prevent them from being dislodged therefrom. The arm 35 is made of iron or other magnetic material which will be attracted downward to.- ward the pole piece 30a of the solenoid 30 when the latter is energized. The arm also includes a flat upper portion 36 riveted or otherwise attached to it which need not be of magnetic material and preferably is made of a resilient metal. It has a bifurcated free right end consisting of two curved fingers 36a and 36b which are disposed on opposite sides of the intermediate portion 28a of the clutch assembly.

When the timer is off, the solenoid 30 is not energized and the spring 2-5 pushes the assembly 28 up out of engagement with member 24, thereby pushing upwards on the lower surface of the fingers 36a and 3612. With the members 2-8 and 24 disengaged the member 28 is rotated by the unwinding action of helical spring 41 until projection a rests against pin 48.

When the timer is turned on by means of an external switch which permits the solenoid 30 to be energized by appropriate leads connected thereto, the solenoid 30 causes the arm 35 to rock downward thereby impelling the clutch assembly- 28, downward against the bias of the spring 25 until the teeth 28b and 24b mesh. At approximately the same time the motor 20 is energized which causes the shaft 24a and hence the. entire clutch (28, 24) to rot-ate and the member 55a engages the cam surface 40 of the clutch member 28d. The point at which member 55a engages that surface depends upon the position of the plate 46 which, in turn, depends upon the angular position of cam 45. The more clockwise the knob 17 is turned, the more the plate 46 is urged in the direction of the dial and thus arm 55 will not be pivoted clockwise until a larger radius portion of cam 40 engages its end.

It will be seen that as the portion 28d continues to revolve in a counter-clockwise direction, the arm 55 will be progressively pivoted clockwise until the fingers 57 and 58 depress buttons 67 and 68 fully at the end of the timing cycle whereupon the switches 50 will be actuated. Each of the two buttons 67 and 68 may have two switch circuits connected to them, for example, one of the circuits makes, the other breaks. Therefore one switch can turn on an external circuit and turn off another. The other switch turns off the timer motor and can turn on a second external circuit. At a desired time after the timing cycle has been completed, the external switch which has been used to turnon the solenoid may again be operated to turn it off whereupon the arm 36. is pushed upward (FIGS. 2 and 4) out of contact with the pole piece 30a by the pressure of the spring 25 upward on the clutch member 28. This disengages the clutch whereupon the member 28 revolves freely and rapidly around the shaft 24a because of the unwinding force exerted by the spring 41 on the portion 28e. This rotation continues until the projection 40a rests against the pin 48.

Pushbutton Operation The previous description dealt with initiation of the operation of the timer by means of switches external to the timer which control its current supplied to the motor 20 and to the solenoid 30. at about the same time. In certain cases, pushbutton initiation of the timing cycle is desired. For this reason there is provided, as. shown in FIGS. 2, 5 and 7, means for commencing the. action of the timer by pressure exerted axially upon the. pushbutton 16. The pushbutton 16 is mounted through an aperture in the dial 15 and another aperture aligned therewith in the front panel 14. It has three parallel cylindrical projections 16a, 16b, and 160 which also protrude through apertures 79, and 81 in a wall of the. bracket 23. It also includes an inwardly-projecting portion 164 having a lower inclined surface 16.2 which rests upon the. movable intermediate blade 74 of a switch70,.

The pushbutton 16 is normally urged outward by the. decompressive action of the spring 78, the outward motion being limited by the shoulder portion 16 which bears against the inner surface of the panel 14. Normally, the contacts 72 of the blade 74 touch the Contact 71 but do not touch the contact 73. Contact 71 is pro vided to deactivate some other circuit or device when the timer is on. It may also be used in case it is, desired to have a signal bulb light or bell sound, etc., when the. timer is not operating. When the pushbutton is pressed, the inward movement of the inclined portion 16e causes. the movable blade 74 of switch 70 to move downward until contacts 72 and 73 are touching and contact 71 is. disengaged.

An upright member 75 which is made of an insulating material is fixedly connected as by being screwed or staked or cemented to the intermediate blade 74. The: lower surface of the member 35 rests freely on top of member 75. When the pushbutton 16 is moved inwardly, the momentary meeting of the contacts 72 and 73 enables. the solenoid 30 to be energized. The latter pulls the arm.

35 down which keeps the solenoid energized by pressing member 75 down so that contacts 72 and 73 are kept. closeddespite the subsequent outward movement of the pushbutton 16 due to spring 78. At the same time, the closing of these contacts enables the motor 20 to be energized via leads connected to switch 70 and the timing cycle to begin.

Alternative Embodiment FIGURE 8 shows a slight variation in the construction and action of the clutch-actuating member when it is desired to have the clutch normally engaged except when the solenoid is energized. This form is useful when it is desired to design a timer which will not automatically reset if there is a momentary loss of power to it. The actuating member is indicated at the numeral 35' and its free left end normally is held away from the polepiece of the solenoid 30 by virtue of a spring 52 which is attached between a middle portion of member 35 and a wall of the bracket 23. As shown, the solenoid 30 is energized which pulls down the member 35' overcoming the tension of spring 52. Instead of having a flexible portion, such as member 36 shown in FIG. 4, there is a rigid portion 35 which is bifurcated and normally presses the portion 280 of the clutch 28 downward under the influence of spring 52 until the clutch is engaged. The arm 35' is anchored near its mid-point by two or more legs 35'c which pass through apertures in the bracket 23. The action of this embodiment is opposite to that of the form shown in the previous figures. With the motor energized and solenoid 30' unenergized in normal operation the clutch 28 is engaged and timing occurs. If power loss occurs, the clutch, being engaged, will not allow member 28 to be rotated by spring 41. Thus, if the power is shortly resupplied, the timing will resume.

In some arrangements of this form, at the end of the timed interval the motor is turned oil. To reset the timer a pulse of current may be applied to the solenoid which causes the arm 35 to rock to the left thereby allowing the spring within 280 to push the latter upward so as to disengage the clutch and permit spring 41 to reset the timer.

Terminal Construction The various circuits to be controlled or timed as well as the energization of the motor and solenoid may be accomplished by leads eonnected'to the terminals 18 shown in FIGS. 1, 9 and 10. They are specially made to accommodate various types of connectors and to facilitate rapid, inexpensive fabrication.

As seen in FIGS. 9 and 10 the terminals 19 consist of an external inclined, planar portion which has an aperture 19a through which bare leads may be passed and soldered. The external portion has a narrower end section 19 upon which a slip-on connector may be slipped. In addition the external portion has a larger aperture 1% which is substantially concentric with an aperture 82 in the housing 13 when the external portion is screwed down by a screw 83 as shown in the right hand view of FIG. 9. A lead may be curled around the shank of screw 83 under the head thereof as shown in FIG. 9.

The intermediate portion 190 passes through a slot 84 in the recess 18 of the housing 13 and the lower end portion 13d is available for connection to any desired internal lead by any conventional method such as by a slip-on connector. The intermediate portion 19c is narrower than the external portion and includes two curved notches 19c which are engaged by inwardly-projecting members 85a and 85b formed in the plastic or other slightly yieldable material of the housing 13. To facilitate the insertion of the terminals 19 into locked position within the slots 84 the edge of terminals 19 are formed with angled edge portions 19g which assist in temporarily enlarging the space between members 85a and 85b as the terminals are thrust downward. The terminals are forced downward until the portions 85a and 85b snap into the notches 19c whereupon the terminal cannot be extracted from above without mutilating it or the slot. Also the terminal cannot be moved downward appreciably because the external portion is wider than the intermediate portion.

General Remarks In order to achieve a low cost but high quality timer, the bracket 23 may be a commonly available U-frame made of cold rolled steel. This material has relatively poor magnetic permeability. However, the magnetic flux path through the bracket, the armature member 35, and

the pole piece 30a is sufficient to operate the solenoid provided the armature and pole piece are made of high permeability material. This general construction eliminates the need for a separate flux-guiding relay part of good magnetic material as in conventional relay construction. The flexible member 36 has the advantage of permitting slightly less rigorous tolerances to be applied between the pole piece 30a and the lower surface of armature member 35 which touches it. If the armature 35 were entirely rigid, variations in production could be such as to cause the armature-pole piece combination to seat higher or lower than the prescribed distance and might introduce relay-type buzz or noise in its operation. By providing the construction shown wherein the force of the armature stroke is transmitted through the flexible member to clutch portion 28, expensive grinding of the surfaces of armature 35 and of pole piece 3ila can be avoided.

The use of the setting cam 45 avoids some of the problems inherent in more conventional types of setting mechanisms. It is important for accuracy that the carriage 46 be exactly in the same position relative to the setting of the knob 16 at both ends of the dial scale. Conventional screw or gear mechanisms, unless they are expensive precision assemblies, entail a certain amount of deadband or hysteresis. Using the spring-loaded plate 46 to urge the projection 46a against the setting cam 45 results in a low-cost design which has high repeat accuracy.

It should also be noted that the bias spring 47 is mounted at an acute angle (FIG. 2) with respect to switchplate 46. Thus it tends to pull the plate 46 against the inner surface of the bracket 23 even though no securing member (like 49a) is used near the corner of the plate 46 at which projection 46b is located.

The spring-loaded plate 46 also provides stabilizing torque on the setting knob 17 that is necessary to prevent vibrations or other environmental movements from altering the timer setting. Changing the spring force of spring 47 is a means of adjusting that torque.

While the invention has been described in terms of timing apparatus, it is also possible to use my invention as a revolution counter. That is to say, instead of employing the motor 20 to revolve the shaft 24a and hence the clutch 28, the shaft 24a could be coupled by appropriate shafts or by gears to a revolving shaft or other body whose rotations are to be counted. A desired number of revolutions would be set by an operator by adjustment of the knob 17 on the front and the indicia on the dial would reflect, not time units, but rather numbers of revolutions. After counting a predetermined number of these revolutions my novel apparatus could be used to effect a switching action of some desired kind.

As another variation, my apparatus can be used as a so-called impulse counter wherein the clutch 24 will be rotated angularly a certain number of degrees on its axis in response to pulses applied to a pulse motor that drives shaft 24a. Hence, a predetermined number of pulses applied to the motor will initiate a switching action when the cam 28d is rotated to a particular position depending upon the setting of the knob 17.

Doubtless a number of other applications and modifications of my invention which do not depart from the essence thereof will occur to those skilled in the art upon reading this application. Consequently, I desire my invention to be limited solely by the claims herein.

I claim:

1. Timing apparatus comprising:

(a) manually operable means including first cam means settable to a predetermined time interval,

(b) a second cam means, said second cam means also including a first clutch portion,

(c) an assembly which comprises a pivotal substantially planar member having a projection which engages said first cam, said assembly being pivoted in response to rotation of said first cam, said planar member carrying a selected number of switches thereupon, said assembly also including a member which engages said second cam and actuates said switches when said second cam is in a predetermined position corresponding to the end of said interval,

(0.) a second clutch portion which passes through said second cam means, said clutch portions normally being disengaged from one another,

(e) a motor which is coupled to said second clutch portion and (1) means for actuating said motor and causing said clutch members to be engaged substantially at the beginning of said predetermined interval.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said (f) means includes an armature and a solenoid, said armature moving said first clutch portion into contact with said second clutch portion upon energization of said solenoid.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2 wherein one end of said armature is rockably mounted in a mounting bracket and wherein the other end thereof is supported by said first clutch portion out of contact with said solenoid when the latter is unenergized and wherein said armature presses said first clutch portions into engagement with said second clutch portion when said solenoid is energized.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said armature is provided with a flexible portion which transmits movement to said first clutch portion and further wherein said armature is also provided with a rigid portion having one end loosely mounted in a mounting bracket and its other end connected to said rigid portion.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said (f) mean includes an armature and a solenoid, said armature normally causing said first clutch portion to engage said second clutch portion when said solenoid is, unenergized and to disengage said clutch portions when said solenoid is energized.

6. The. apparatus-according to claim 5 wherein said armature has one end thereof normally biased by spring means connected to a mounting bracket so as to move said first clutch portion into engagement with said second clutch portion, wherein the otherend of said. arm e is normally held away from said solenoid by the action of said spring means, and wherein an intermediate portion of said armature is. rockably mounted in said mounting bracket, said armature being constructed to assist in releasing said clutch portions from one another when said solenoid is energized.

7. The apparatus according to. claim 6 wherein said armature is completely rigid.

8. Timing apparatus comprising:

(a) a first manually-operable cam means settable to a predetermined time interval,

(b) a combination cam and clutch member,

(0) a second clutch member,

((1) a motor for rotating said second clutch member,

(e) a pivoting assembly having a first cam-follower portion which engages said manually-operable cam and is movable in response to operation of the latter and also having a second cam-follower portion which engages said cam of said combination member, said assembly also including a selected number of switches and means coupled to said second cam-follower portion for actuating said switches substantially only when the cam of said combination member is in a predetermined position corresponding to the end of said predetermined interval,

(f) an armature and solenoid assembly which causes said clutch members to engage when said solenoid is energized, and

(g) means including a push-button for energizing said solenoid and motor whereupon said armature causes said (g) means to latch thereby maintaining said clutch in engaged position and said motor in energized condition until said switches are actuated.

9. The timing apparatus according to claim 8 wherein said (g) means includes a switch having two separable contact members which are momentarily caused to touch one another in response to pressure upon said push-button and wherein one of said contact members is provided with means in the path of movement of said armature for keeping said contact members closed when said armature is magnetically actuated by said solenoid.

10. The timing apparatus according to claim 8 wherein said pivoting assembly includes a primarily planar mounting plate which is pivotally mounted to a flat surface of a mounting bracket and wherein said plate is biased by resilient means connected to it and to said mounting bracket so that said first cam-follower portion bears against said first cam means thereby normally stabilizing the angular position of the latter in the absence of manual operation thereof, said resilient means also bias ing said plate to be substantially in intimate contact with said flat surface and to constrain it to move parallel thereto.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,853,567 9/58 Kock 200-31 2,872,075 2/59 Steiner 200-38 2,946,902 7'/ Hagen 200-38 3,045,870 7/62 Danz'iger et al. 20038 3,119,908 1/64 Boothroyd 200-38 BERNARD A. GILHEANY, Primary Examiner. 

1. TIMING APPARATUS COMPRISING: (A) MANUALLY OPERABLE MEANS INCLUDING FIRST CAM MEANS SETTABLE TO A PREDETERMINED TIME INTERVAL, (B) A SECOND CAM MEANS, SAID SECOND CAM MEANS ALSO INCLUDING A FIRST CLUTCH PORTION, (C) AN ASSEMBLY WHICH COMPRISES A PIVOTAL SUBSTANTIALLY PLANAR MEMBER HAVING A PROJECTION WHICH ENGAGES SAID FIRST CAM, SAID ASSEMBLY BEING PIVOTED IN RESPONSE TO ROTATION OF SAID FIRST CAM, SAID PLANAR MEMBER CARRYING A SELECTED NUMBER OF SWITCHES THEREUPON, SAID ASSEMBLY ALSO INCLUDING A MEMBER WHICH ENGAGES SAID SECOND CAM AND ACTUATES SAID SWITCHES WHEN SAID SECOND CAM IS IN A PREDETERMINED POSITION CORRESPONDING TO THE END OF SAID INTERVAL, 